Higher wind turbine fee sought- Adelaide-Metcalfe

A plan to escalate fees for companies wanting to erect wind turbines in Adelaide Metcalfe has been deferred until politicians can determine if charging $10,000 per turbine would cover the potential costs.

The current fee is $500, which local politicians have said is far too low to justify the engineering costs and other expenses which the Strathroy-area municipality could incur as the massive wind machines are put into service.

A council meeting this week to determine how much more to charge — the proposal was $10,000 per turbine — drew scores of residents.

Many called for even higher fees, along the lines of the $40,000 some Ontario communities are charging.

One resident said $10,000 would be too low even to inspect one of the structures.

Council heard submissions for about two hours before sending the matter back to staff to look at whether Adelaide Metcalfe should be a leader or a follower in the fee battle.

“What really pleased me was the response from the community,” said Esther Wrightman, who recalled that she and her family felt alone in their opposition when they first started talking with council a year ago.

Two wind energy giants, NextEra and Suncor, are looking to build as many as 68 turbines in the rural community.

Although the province has been promoting its green energy strategy — and this week promoted a report that says wind turbines don’t have any direct health effects — opponents say turbines can produce low frequency noise, harm bird migration and reduce property values.

Green energy giants NextEra and Suncor plan to build as many as 68 wind turbines in the Adelaide Metcalfe area in two separate projects.

No date was set for Adelaide Metcalfe council to debate the issue again.